Monday, May 25, 2015

Monday, May 25, 2015

Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2006. We took Mattie to Scott's Run in McLean, VA. Which is another one of the the Nature Preserves on the list that Mattie liked to visit. Mattie particularly liked this stream area and crossing over it. Typically he was crossing it himself, and hopping from one stone to the next, but that day he was tired and decided it was better to have Peter do the work. Peter was quite used to this on our walks, since Mattie practically grew up attached to Peter's back! As a baby, Mattie strongly disliked his car seat and forget about a stroller. Mattie really did not like anything that confined his movement in any way. But hanging from Peter's back gave him a bird's eye view that he always enjoyed, and right from day one Mattie preferred being outdoors and in wide open spaces! 


Quote of the day: One of the best feelings in the world is knowing your presence and absence both mean something to someone. ~ Unknown


Tomorrow I will resume with highlighting the Foundation Walk and displaying photos from the event. However, I did the grand total count and can happily report that we had 408 attendees this year at the Walk & Family Festival!

Peter and I visited Huntley Meadows Park today. This is a Park we used to take Mattie to quite often. Though it isn't around the corner from us, it is a very tranquil and beautiful Park, and one in which you are always guaranteed to see amazing wildlife. As always today did not disappoint. 

Huntley Meadows Park is a rich, natural and historical island of over 1,500 acres in Northern Virginia. It harbors a nationally significant historic house, majestic forests, wildflower-speckled meadows and vast wetlands bursting with life.

Some of the best wildlife watching in the Washington metropolitan area is enjoyed here. From the ½ mile wetland boardwalk trail and observation tower, where you can view beavers, frogs, dragonflies and herons. Huntley Meadows is well known as a prime birding spot, with over 200 species identified in the park.

Our first sighting along our journey was this toad! I did not see him at all, but he was literally hopping right in front of Peter. Peter stopped me to look at this tiny thing. The toad was VERY small, maybe the size of a golf ball at best and he blended in beautifully with his surroundings. 

The next sighting was a deer. The deer was off in the woods, so this was as close up as we could snap a photo without disturbing the process and getting off the trail. 

However, one of my favorite parts of the Park is the 1/2 mile boardwalk. It is on this boardwalk that you can see practically a whole ecosystem! 

Turtles were everywhere..... some were basking in the sunshine..................

and some were swimming about in the water!

We also saw the acrobats of the bird world! I call them that because they literally dive bomb into the water to catch fish with great precision! Osprey, are sometimes called the fish eagle, sea hawk, river hawk, or fish hawk. They are fish-eating bird of prey. They are a large raptor, reaching more than two feet in length and 6 feet across the wings. They are brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts. The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. 

As we were walking on the boardwalk, literally about two feet from the boardwalk was a Great Blue Heron just standing there. As if posing to have his photo taken! 

Whether poised at a river bend or cruising the coastline with slow, deep wing beats, the Great Blue Heron is a majestic sight. This stately heron with its subtle blue-gray plumage often stands motionless as it scans for prey or wades belly deep with long, deliberate steps. They may move slowly, but Great Blue Herons can strike like lightning to grab a fish. In flight, look for this widespread heron’s tucked-in neck and long legs trailing out behind.

One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along fresh and salt water marshes, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring.

This is not one of my favorite sightings, but Mattie would have truly appreciated the Water Snake today!

I preferred looking at this cute frog, who seemed to be staring at me! 

The marsh was filled with damsel flies! I have no idea where the dragon flies were, but these bugs were all aflutter on this clear, sunny, blue sky day.